1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to multi-purpose pliers tools, particularly of the type utilized by electricians, and more particularly relates to a multi-purpose electrician pliers tool having a variety of different features which is an improvement over prior art electricians tools.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is well documented with combination pliers and wire stripper devices. Such devices are particularly useful to electricians who desire the capabilities of portable and compact multi-functioning tools during the performance of their tasks. This is made even more important by the fact that electricians must often work in fairly inaccessible locations, making the ability to carry around numerous different tools in a toolbox often impractical or impossible.
An example of a combination wire stripper and plier device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,406, issued to Stanford, which teaches a device including a pair of handle members having cutting plates mounted at upper ends thereof. The cutting plates are secured to a rearward side of a pivot pin and are sized for different wire gauges. The Stanford device further includes an elongate and narrowed nose formed by the first and second jaw portions for gripping an end of a wire so as to curl it and a pair of cutters located just forwardly of the pivot pin. The drawback of the Stanford device is that the extreme narrowness of the first and second jaw portions are suited for only gripping a couple of wires at a time for splicing and that the limited capacity for accepting more wires limits its functionality.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,647, issued to Neff, teaches a combination wire working tool which includes a needle-nose plier jaws, a crimping orifice for crimping solderless electrical terminals to the ends of wire, cutter blades for cutting wire and a plurality of orifices for cutting and stripping insulation material from insulated wire of different diameters. The Greenlee fish tape reel disclosure illustrates a fish tape reel device which is used for pulling attached electrical wires through an electrical junction box and an internally hollowed conduit extending therefrom. At the end of the extending fish tape reel is a ring to which is attached the ends of the several wires.
The shortcoming of the prior art is that it has not, to date, been able to combine the features of a multi-functional electrician pliers device with a fish tape reel device into a workable tool, particularly owing to the difficulties in obtaining proper balancing of such a tool during translation of the fish tape reel.